285 Dekan's Reliable Teammates

It seemed that they had noticed the Cat Teacher who had fallen from the windowsill.

Cornelia also released Dekan.

The two looked at the cat that had fainted.

I was a little confused at first.

They then exchanged a smile.

"I think I know why our cats are always so strange."

Dekan spoke as if he had figured out many things.

Actually, he had already sensed something a little while back in the Shadow World.

It's just not confirmed.

"You finally figured it out."

Cornelia said with a smile.

"So, Morion is... I really didn't expect that. No wonder he gets along so well with Cat Teacher..."

Dekan shook his head helplessly.

Thinking of that unscrupulous businessman he both hated and loved, he didn't know how to evaluate him.

To say whether or not he holds a grudge against Morion.

He still remembers.

But there's no need to settle things so clearly with Morion anymore.

Next time you see him, treat him like a true friend.

Aren't you afraid Morion will trick you again?

Cornelia asked, clearly having discerned Dekan 'Dekan thoughts from his expression.

"You're really getting excited about this. If he tries to cheat me again, it wouldn't be unreasonable for me to try and reason with him, would it?"

"I also prefer to win people over with virtue."

The two seem to have forgotten about Cat Teacher again.

Until Cat Teacher seemed to see the Goddess, received salvation, and returned to the human world.

Its paws twitched twice, then it shuddered and scrambled to its feet.

"Meow! You guys! What happened to you, meow!! What did I miss, waaaaah!!"

Cat Teacher jumped onto the bed, and watching the two talking, she was first very excited, and then she burst into tears.

It was a cry of mixed joy and sorrow, a cry that expressed both happiness for the two people it was blessing and sadness for having missed many crucial moments.

It was sent to Mie by Dekan a day earlier.

Despite the Cat Teacher's several attempts to escape, he failed each time.

Until Mie let the Cat Teacher go, no matter how the Cat Teacher asked Mie, he always said he knew nothing.

Cat Teacher knew there was big news coming.

Dekan definitely won't tell it!

It all depends on how much Cornelia is willing to tell it.

Do you want to hear it?

Dekan picked up the Cat Teacher and asked in a gentle voice.

"Meow? You're willing to talk?"

"Um."

"Where did you hide the real Dekan, meow?"

Dekan ruffled the Cat Teacher's hair.

I'm too lazy to argue with Cat Teacher today.

Although he never held it against Cat Teacher.

"That story begins a thousand years ago, or perhaps ten thousand years ago... It's the tale of a young girl who, in the span of her short life, changed a demon..."

Dekan began to slowly recount everything he had learned in his dream.

Although he couldn't recall Delois's memories.

But this one paragraph is enough.

This must have been one of the most memorable moments of Delois's life.

It's unknown where Delois went after leaving that territory, or whether he found the answers he sought in the long years that followed.

But Dekan knew that Delois had been changed since then.

Like a small pebble in a rapidly changing era, it was pried up and rolled, ultimately potentially even altering the fate of that era.

Dekan had never seen any part of this dream before.

I don't know why.

Dekan was absolutely certain.

That is the Holy Kingdom.

In that era of the Holy Kingdom and the Demon Realm, it seems that many people in the present world have counterparts to it.

Now Dekan can also be certain.

In the scenes from the Master's memories of the Holy Kingdom.

Standing next to the Holy Bishop Lunn and the Master was not Dekan, but Delois, with gray hair and golden eyes.

There's more to it than just about the Master; there's so much more about him that needs to be discovered in the Holy Kingdom.

He wanted to know the whole story of Delois.

After the Hero Festival, whether it's the seventh-tier or eighth-tier Shadow World.

He would seize any opportunity to revisit the Holy Kingdom.

Late at night on the same day.

In some unknown place, only tainted black stars shimmered with an eerie light in the sky.

This space is a mystical place that bishops of the Resurrection Church can only reach through their thoughts via their Bishop's Token.

Inside the illusory temple of the Resurrection Church, the six walls felt oppressive, like a prison made of black stone slabs.

Sudden.

The structure inside the temple began to rotate slowly, like a Rubik's Cube, with the stones rolling with a clattering sound.

Its structure began to change. In the main hall, several huge black geometric shapes appeared out of nowhere, with only flat tops, as if they were floating without any support.

The strangely shaped black geometric objects were covered with numerous eerie runes, which flickered faintly like countless eyes, creating a sinister and cold atmosphere.

Figures resembling black mist stood atop the black geometric shape, only their eyes visible amidst the haze.

Each person corresponds to a black geometric shape, which represents the bishop's seat.

This time, however, is different from the last Bishop Council.

Surrounded by black geometric shapes, the seat belonging to the Pope on the central stone pillar is no longer vacant.

A figure sat down on it.

He seemed to sit on a throne, his eyes filled with seriousness and indifference, like the ruler of the world looking down on all living beings, noble and untouchable.

Apart from the already deceased Bishop of Corruption Fahim, the openly known Bishop of Pain Dekan, and the incomprehensible Bishop of Frenzy Clay, the other seven bishops were present, including the Bishop of Nightmare and the Bishop of Devouring were absent last time.

Once the Pope, who possesses administrator privileges, returns to the mortal realm, he can override certain privileges granted to the Bishop of Pain.

For example, in regular meetings like these, the Pope can isolate the Bishop of Pain.

In addition, the Pope can also use his Pope authority to create Bishop's Token.

Generally, the Bishop's Token without a master is used when a vacancy arises and the Pope appoints a new bishop.

Of course, in cases like the Bishop of Corruption Fahim whose authority has been taken away by Dekan according to the rules of Bishop Duel, the position of bishop is essentially not vacant, and even if there are only nine bishops in reality, the Pope cannot appoint a new bishop.

The Dekan alone possesses the equivalent of the licensing authority of two bishops.

However, unclaimed Bishop's Token have another use.

That's what reporting a lost item means.

Once this unclaimed Bishop's Token is delivered to Clay, the Bishop of Frenzy Clay can transform it into the Frenzy Bishop's Token, rendering the Frenzy Bishop's Token that Dekan tricked him into giving invalidity.

However, since the founding of the Resurrection Church, there have been very few instances of Cardinal losing their Bishop's Token.

Not to mention that he deliberately lost his Bishop's Token.

Aside from that man who left even the Pope speechless—

The Bishop of Frenzy was truly mad.

The Pope even considered whether he should just kill that bastard Clay.

However, in the subsequent operations, Clay became a crucial fighting force for them.

Moreover, in this church that is investigating the mole, besides Carlos, only Clay is the Pope's most trusted person.

The blood feud between Clay and the Kingdom Association is real.

Moreover, this guy with the peculiar way of thinking is completely oblivious to internal affairs, so the loss of property has nothing to do with him. He would rather lose his Bishop's Token than steal money from the church to gamble. I don't know whether to praise him or not.

Therefore, the Pope decided to let Clay off the hook again.

After this operation, we'll bring Clay back and have the Pope personally teach Clay about discipline.

"Carlos, has anyone been sent to deliver it to Clay?"

The Pope looked toward the presiding, Bishop of Falsehood Carlos.

The Pope had already prepared the lost Bishop's Token and ordered it to be sent to Clay.

Judging by the timeline, these days should be enough to find Clay and deliver the unclaimed Bishop's Token to Clay.

"... It's been delivered."

The Bishop of Falsehood hesitated slightly in his reply, and then continued:

"But Clay refused to use it."

Pope; "?"

Void: "He said that what he lost by his own ability, he should win back by his own ability."

"...!"

The Pope's blood pressure visibly spiked upon hearing this, but he rubbed his temples and managed to hold it in.

"It's nothing serious. Keep in touch with Clay using communication magic. This mission is also Clay's long-cherished wish. Even without orders, he will complete it with the utmost enthusiasm."

Communication magic has distance limitations. If the distance is far, it requires going through many circuits to contact Clay, which is far less convenient and faster than the Bishop's Token.

"Yes, Pope Holiness."

Bishop Carlos, the Bishop of Falsehood, also seemed quite tired.

The recent period of acting as the Pope's interim head of the Resurrection Church had already exhausted him enough.

Now he has to continue being tormented by Clay, working overtime.

If he could, he really wouldn't want to deal with Clay.

The Pope looked around at the bishops.

Although there was a mole among this group.

However, the main fighting force this time is not any of them.

If the mole dares to come forward, it would be a good opportunity to purge him.

"I won't tell you everything about this operation. I'll only tell you what each of you needs to do. Remember, do your job well."

The Pope's tone carried a powerful and cold sense of oppression.

"Yes."

All the bishops responded in unison.

After the meeting.

In an underground laboratory somewhere in the Northern Nations.

Compared to a laboratory, this place looks more like a factory built on ancient ruins, with many instruments and equipment on display, some in operation, some resting, and even sparks flying in some places.

Besides the busy researchers from the Resurrection Church, there were also three prominent figures at this ancient site.

Standing in the middle was the Pope, with two bishops standing on either side.

The three of them were already together in this world.

The Pope's thoughts returned to reality.

He glanced at the Bishop of Falsehood Carlos and the Shadow Bishop Minos beside him.

The two nodded to him.

The Shadow Bishop stepped forward to examine the giant magical artifact in front of him, then pointed at it with satisfaction.

"Pope Holiness, it's almost finished, and the initial testing results are fine. It will definitely be ready for use on the scheduled day."

"Very good."

The Pope gazed at the amethyst-like meteorite floating in the crystal tank of the magical instrument in the distance.

This was the legendary material [Spatial Star Stone] that he had finally obtained in the ninth-tier Shadow World after a long period of time.

It contains a Magic Power spatial property that is unimaginable and unconventional to this world.

However, Minos also lacked the ability to turn it into Magic Card.

Therefore, they had no choice but to call upon all the researchers of the Resurrection Church and the chief Magic Engineering Minos to work together to develop a magical device that could use the power of the [Spatial Star Stone].

Once completed.

At that time, they will sweep through the core of the Kingdom Association in an instant...

The Salon Empire in the far north.

Even in summer.

Here, snow sometimes falls like in heaven.

Inside the Imperial Palace.

Even though it was already late at night.

The emperor did not return to his palace, but remained leaning back in his chair, resting his chin on one hand.

It seemed as if it was waiting for something.

Soon, a figure appeared in the palace, dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking officer of the Imperial Magic Special Forces.

"Your Majesty, this is intelligence from our superior."

The sound, along with the figure, reached the emperor's ears.

At the same time, he handed a crystal to the emperor.

The emperor accepted the crystal without saying a word or hesitating at all.

After deciphering the above technique, I read through its contents.

The next second, the crystal was crushed.

She paused for a moment, tapping her fingers lightly on the armrest of her chair as she pondered.

When her fingers stopped, she made a decision and said:

"Order her to continue playing her role well, let the Resurrection Church and the Kingdom Association fight to the bitter end, and not to do anything unnecessary."

"Yes."

Southern States.

It was already past midnight.

On the outskirts of a city, a young man is walking alone.

He appeared to have gone through a long chase, finally shaking off his enemies.

"Sigh, this time Dekan is going to take Flora to the Philoven Kingdom as well, it's really a headache."

Morion sighed and complained.

He was already on the run, and now he has Clay clinging to him as well.

Having finally shaken off Clay, they could now travel to the Philoven Kingdom with peace of mind.

He didn't want to bring the dangerous Bishop of Frenzy to the Kingdom Association Hero Festival.

Morion still hasn't forgotten the expression on Clay's face when he and Clay left the Shadow World and entered the settlement space, and Clay saw Dekan's name on the settlement interface.

Clearly, Clay hadn't expected to spend two weeks with Dekan.

It seems like we've been tricked by Dekan again.

Then, Clay became even more persistent in his pursuit of Morion.

Clay not only wanted to uncover some truths, but also firmly believed that he could find Dekan by following Morion.

Fortunately, Clay was a bit simple-minded, and with a few tricks up his sleeve, he managed to shake him off.

However.

Just as Morion was completely relaxed...

His eyes were covered by someone's cold little hand.

He failed to dodge.

Because the other party had no intention to kill, or even any malice.

Morion stopped in his tracks.

Then the little hand let go.

The man hugged him from behind.

Why are you here?

Morion asked, somewhat puzzled.

Although the person behind him remained silent, he already knew who it was.

He is an incorrigible villain and a greedy scoundrel.

He is also his one and only... partner.

Bishop of Nightmare Alina.

"You should stay away from the Philoven Kingdom, that place of trouble."

Her voice was like that of a puppet devoid of any emotion.

The Bishop of Nightmare seems to have figured out that Morion wants to head towards the Philoven Kingdom.

"What's wrong?"

Morion frowned.

He had only heard from the Bishop of Nightmare that the Resurrection Church might take action regarding the Hero Festival.

However, the fact that the Bishop of Nightmare personally came and warned Morion against going clearly indicates that, according to the information the Bishop of Nightmare currently possesses, this Hero Festival is extremely dangerous.

"I might not be able to protect you this time."

"The Bishop of Nightmare said softly."

She believed Morion fully understood the risks.

"I won't leave."

Morion answered with unexpected firmness.

There was a moment of silence between them.

"For whom?"

"My sister, and... my friends."

Morion remained silent for a long while before answering.

"I understand."

After the Bishop of Nightmare finished speaking, he released Morion.

When Morion turned around, there was no one around.

He looked at the open space, his expression complex.

To this day, he still hasn't figured out how to face the Bishop of Nightmare.

That ill-fated relationship she formed with the Bishop of Nightmare back in the territory.

It's far more complicated than it seems to the world.

That was a story of a brilliant count who, instead of facing death, chose to sacrifice himself to save his people, family, and friends, bearing the blame alone.

There's just no one to tell.

"Dekan, it would be wonderful if you could one day eradicate the Resurrection Church, but unfortunately, all I can do is secure the Bishop of Nightmare's help... it's far from enough..."

Two days later, on the morning.

Today has finally arrived, the day when they will set off for the southern Philoven Kingdom to participate in the once-every-five-years Hero Festival!

This time, Dekan is participating in the main competition as a player from the Norton Kingdom, and will also participate in other types of activities as a guest.

He was already eagerly anticipating it.

"Let's set off with style!"

Dekan shouldered his bag and left the dormitory early.

He originally intended to wait for Cornelia at her door.

Who knew Cornelia had the same idea?

The two met on their way to each other's dormitories.

Meanwhile, the Cat Teacher, perched on Cornelia's shoulder, lazily waved to Dekan.

After leaving the dormitory, they soon encountered Croix, Mie, Alice, and others on campus.

"Let's call the three Idol Group too, then our team will be complete!"

Alice walked at the front of the group with a beaming smile and said...

However, she discovered...

The others seemed to fall silent.

"What's wrong?"

Aren't you all getting along pretty well with the Idol Group?

Alice turned around and said in confusion.

Croix's forehead began to sweat, and Dekan's expression became somewhat unnatural, while Mie pretended not to hear anything and looked into the distance.

Several tens of minutes later.

On the outskirts of the Royal Capital, accompanied by the sound of clattering drums, a war chariot pulled by two magical beasts flashing with azure lightning galloped across the open fields.

This is the Thunder Beast Chariot His Majesty the King lent to Dekan and his team when the Beautiful Soul Squad went to the Randir Kingdom in the central region to participate in the seventh-tier team exam.

They first needed to travel by chariot to the Southern States closest to the Norton Kingdom.

Subsequently, due to the convenience of the Southern States, once they reached the southern border, they could transfer to the magical energy rail vehicles that were exclusive to the Southern States.

At that time, it will only take three more days to reach the Philoven Kingdom.

On the tank.

Princess Alice still couldn't understand why the atmosphere among these people was so tense.

It's as if an invisible wall separates the three members of the Idol Group from the members of the Beautiful Soul Squad.

Alice sensed that Mie seemed to know something, but Mie kept pretending not to know.

This journey will take several more days.

If everyone stays in this atmosphere and doesn't say a word, it'll be too uncomfortable!

As the leader, Alice believes she should break this deadlock!

So she coughed lightly twice, looked at everyone, and asked:

"Is there anywhere you'd like to go after this competition? Let's all have a great time, and it'll all be on me!"

Alice said this to lighten the mood.

"Well."

Dekan sighed.

Alice may be the only unaware person present at this moment.

They completely failed to understand how awkward it was for several people to be sharing such a small space on the bus.

However, this was Dekan's lament.

It seemed to remind Alice of many things.

She had a sudden realization.

"I get it, Dekan! It must be something like the plot from those novels you told me about, right?! In these kinds of big competitions, there's bound to be a villain causing trouble. What's that called again? It's called the 'Scene-Breaking Law'!"

In an instant, Alice imagined a series of scenarios where the tournament would suddenly turn into a free-for-all.

I felt a little nervous, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel excited.

It turns out she was just too optimistic.

Not careful at all.

No one knows what dangers lurk behind this Hero Festival!

As expected, these combat personnel were quite composed.

Everyone looked at Alice, speechless.

Actually, that's not the case.

Everyone really wants to travel seriously.

It was just really awkward.

Alice scratched her head, seemingly doubting her own judgment, and looked at Dekan, asking:

"What's wrong, Dekan? Are you worried that the Resurrection Church or the Calamity Cult will cause trouble this time?"

"We cannot rule out this possibility, but the probability is close to zero."

Dekan explained helplessly.

The location for this Hero Festival is in the heart of the Kingdom Association.

In addition to the ninth-tier Astrologer, Sion, many eighth-tier powerhouses will also gather.

Even security measures were at the highest level.

It was safer than the Royal Capital of the Norton Kingdom.

A rational analysis suggests that the Resurrection Church should never have attempted to storm the enemy base this time.

Once the Astrologer detect that a large number of bishops are gathering in the Philoven Kingdom, more eighth- or even ninth-rank bishops will arrive in advance to provide rapid support.

However, prevention has always been Dekan's principle.

He had indeed considered the possible moves of the Resurrection Church.

He felt that Alice's earlier warning was actually quite correct, and it was necessary to raise the passengers' awareness of potential dangers.

So Dekan took out a piece of paper, laid it on the window, and began to analyze the potential crisis for everyone.

"First of all, this analysis is unrelated to my personal intentions..."

What he then explained was entirely from the perspective of his position as one of the world's top counter-terrorism experts, and from the viewpoint of Terror leader, to plan the possible strategies of the Resurrection Church.

In fact, Dekan had considered that there were only two feasible plans for the Resurrection Church.

Alternatively, they could send a bishop to cause trouble in secret, similar to how Fahim planned to secretly massacre the city during the seventh-tier team assessment.

If they hadn't found Fahim back then, things would have been very difficult.

Therefore, we must be prepared for this situation.

Of course, this kind of work is basically sufficient to be handled by the highest security forces of the Kingdom Association.

The Kingdom Association isn't that useless; they can't even defend their home base against a single bishop.

In this situation, there's a 99% or higher probability that there won't be any problems.

They only need to be wary of some extremely absurd exceptions that Dekan mentioned.

"So the Resurrection Church can't send three or four bishops?"

Alice asked the question.

Dekan shook his head. "This is no different from sending a package deal; it's better to infiltrate one effectively and efficiently. If we're going to send multiple bishops, we might as well send them all, and even the Pope himself."

Dekan then explained the second scenario.

Given the defensive strength of the Philoven Kingdom during the Hero Festival, even if three or four cult leaders came, regardless of whether they succeeded in causing trouble, they would probably lose at least half of their forces here.

Leaving aside how many eighth-tier beings there are, that ninth-tier Astrologer alone is enough to completely overwhelm the bishop.

Therefore, it seems to Dekan that the Resurrection Church should take advantage of the Hero Festival and have the Pope lead all the bishops in a blitzkrieg to a key strategic point far from the south.

For example, they could conquer one of the kingdoms in the north.

"... However, the second scenario we just discussed is also unlikely to occur. As long as there are Astrologer present, they cannot possibly muster a full force to launch a swift attack on strategic locations."

Dekan explained his ideas to everyone.

Therefore, the final conclusion is...

Even though Dekan was an extremely cautious person, he didn't think this Hero Festival was particularly dangerous.

"Is it possible that they could band together and secretly kill the Astrologer?"

Mie suddenly raised his hand and asked a question.

Dekan couldn't help but exclaim, "That's indeed a great idea!"

If he were the Pope the Resurrection Church, the person he would most want to kill would definitely be this Astrologer.

The existence of Astrologer has hampered the actions of the Church of Resurrection Church's strongest fighters.

Unfortunately, that's not very realistic.

"Absolutely impossible. The Astrologer is right here at this Hero Festival, deep within the Philoven Kingdom. Unless the Resurrection Church can teleport away..."

Dekan explained, but then he suddenly froze.

"Hiss, what if there really is a cheat code?"

Dekan muttered to himself thoughtfully.

"Dekan, do you really need to be wary of this, meow... Aren't you worried about getting hit on the head by a meteorite?!"

"Cat Teacher couldn't help but complain," she remarked.

Although it acknowledges that Dekan's consistently excessive caution reassures his teammates.

But sometimes Dekan is indeed outrageously cautious.

Having spent a lot of time with Dekan, it can understand some of the strange words Dekan occasionally utters.

For example, "teleportation cheat" likely refers to spatial magic in this world, which is as difficult to verify as a legendary card in terms of its actual existence.

However, Dekan ignored the Cat Teacher and only gave Mie a meaningful look.

Mie looked out the window again, seemingly trying to avoid the awkward atmosphere inside the car once more.